Daily Application

How does a Stoic make progress? I’ve read the books, but my life isn’t changing. What do I need to do? Where do I need to start?

First, let me share this with you:

Nothing important comes into being overnight; even grapes or figs need time to ripen. If you say that you want a fig now, I will tell you to be patient. First, you must allow the tree to flower, then put forth fruit; then you have to wait until the fruit is ripe. So if the fruit of a fig tree is not brought to maturity instantly or in an hour, how do you expect the human mind to come to fruition, so quickly and easily?

(Epictetus, Discourses I, 15, 7-8)

We can’t read a foreign language textbook from cover to cover and immediately become fluent. It’s part of life that we must practice things that we learn. So that’s what this section of the site is dedicated to: practice.

I’ll be adding posts by random topic, perhaps as they come up in my life, as they cross my mind, or as they are suggested. And I’ll seek to think rationally through each topic to determine what would be the most Virtuous action in that circumstance. Topics are of course open for discussion, and you’re encouraged to provide your own thoughts.